Gestational exposure to excessive levels of dexamethasone impairs maternal care and impacts on the offspring's survival in rats

Administration of dexamethasone (DEX) during late gestation is a model to study growth restriction in rodents, but the pup's mortality index can be high, depending on DEX dosage, and little is known about the effects of DEX on maternal care (MC). Considering that an inadequate MC can also contribute to pup's mortality in this model, we evaluated the effects of DEX on dams' behavior and its consequences on offspring survival. We also investigated whether the cross-fostering of pups from dams treated or not with DEX could improve pup's survival. Wistar rats were treated with DEX (14th to 19th day of gestation -0.2 mg/kg, B.W, in the drinking water). Nest building, MC and responses in the elevated plus-maze, forced swimming and object recognition tests were evaluated. DEX reduced gestational weight gain and impaired neonatal development, reducing pup's survival to 0% by the 3rd postnatal day. DEX-treated dams reduced the expression of typical MC and increased anxiety-like behaviors. After cross-fostering, DEX-treated mothers behaved similarly to controls, indicating that a healthy offspring is crucial to induce adequate MC. Cross-fostering increased the survival index from zero to 25% in the DEX offspring. Postnatal development of the DEX offspring was comparable to controls after cross-fostering. We concluded that exposure to DEX during late gestation causes behavioral changes that compromise the maternal emotional state, disrupting the expression of MC. Although it does not seem to be the main cause of pup's mortality, our data indicate that an adequate MC improves pup's survival in this model.